Partners Aligned Toward Health

The Community Ambassador Real Equality (CARE) Team of bilingual, bicultural ambassadors continued to build bridges and advocate for Hispanic/Latino needs in the community, focusing this year on mental health, substance use, diabetes, legal assistance, and end-of-life planning through wills and advanced directives. Appalachian Youth to Youth and Cougar Fit Club afterschool programs continued to engage Mitchell and Yancey middle and high school students to build resilience, support mental health and destigmatize the topic, prevent substance use, learn and support healthy behaviors and habits, provide mentoring, and support youth leadership and advocacy.

The Mitchell Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force helped steer a Community-Guided Learning Process around Substance Use in Mitchell and Yancey counties using the models of participatory narrative inquiry and community sensemaking. The Coalition engaged in strategic planning, resulting in the formation of three strategic subgroups addressing: Empowering Individuals, Building Capacity, and Refocusing Advocacy and Education Efforts. The coalition also changed their name to Mitchell Yancey Prevention and Recovery Coalition to better align with their community efforts.